Deeptech: Over ten high-potential PSL start-ups selected for the French Tech 2030 program
On June 14, 2023, the President of the French Republic announced the 125 companies selected for the French Tech 2030 call for projects, launched in April. This program brings together the expertise of France 2030, the French Tech Mission and BPI France, to promote the development of French deeptech start-ups with dedicated support. 50% of selected start-ups come from public research, including 11 from the Université PSL ecosystem.
Out of the 125 companies selected for the French Tech 2030 program, 11 come from Université PSL’s research laboratories, incubators, or the energy and motivation of PSL graduates. Most were supported by the university's research promotion services and/or the PSL Innovation Fund in their first years of development. Today, they are recognized and promoted as emerging actors of innovation, responding to challenges to society and sovereignty in three areas: Digital Technology, Environmental Transition and Health.
Digital Technology
Alice & Bob is developing a universal, error-correcting quantum computer, to sell its calculating power. The quantum computer will make it possible to solve certain problems, which are too complex even for today’s supercomputers, exponentially faster.
Until today, errors (due to decoherence) were the main obstacle to the development of such machines. The Schrödinger's cat qubit used by Alice & Bob, which is the product of research by Raphaël Lescanne (ENS – PSL) and Zaki Leghtas (Mines Paris – PSL), drastically simplifies the challenge by automatically correcting such errors.
https://alice-bob.com/
C12 is developing reliable quantum processors, capable of resolving highly complex problems for industry, beyond the scope of the most powerful supercomputer. Their technology, which is the fruit of ten years of research at the ENS – PSL physics laboratory, has the unique potential to process quantum information with a high level of accuracy and on a large scale, by elegantly combining high-purity carbon nanotubes and well-established semi-conductor technology.
https://www.c12qe.com/about
LightOn is developing optic co-processors for artificial intelligence (AI). When connected to a computer or server, these co-processors are capable of performing certain calculations in an incredibly efficient way, which can be used to process very large amounts of data. LightOn responds to the challenges of scaling up AI for it to be used by as many people as possible, while minimizing its environmental impact. Its technology is the fruit of scientific collaboration between ESPCI Paris – PSL and ENS - PSL, at the interface between diffuser optics, signal processing and machine learning.
https://www.lighton.ai/
Environmental Transition
Energo is a greentech start-up incubated at Chimie ParisTech – PSL. It is developing revolutionary chemical transformation technology, based on the combination of catalysis and plasma activation. This combination makes it possible to perform chemical reactions at ambient temperature and pressure, without requiring pre-treatment, which makes this technology clean and decarbonized. It is mainly used to produce renewable gas by transforming CO and CO2 from waste processing or industrial processes into CH4.
https://energo.green/
Calyxia is a start-up born out of high-level scientific research performed at the Colloids and Divided Materials Laboratory (UMR CBI 8231) of ESPCI Paris - PSL in partnership with the Experimental Soft Condensed Matter Group at Harvard University. The results of this research led to technological disruption in the field of encapsulation of active ingredients, which in practice has meant new levels of performance in laundry products, agriculture and advanced materials, while responding to sustainable development issues.
https://www.psl.eu/en/node/259
WooDoo is a start-up founded by Timothée Boitouzet (CEO) in 2016. Incubated at Chimie Paris - PSL, Woodoo is specialized in manufacturing a new composite wood material with pioneering optical and physical properties for the mobility and construction industry.
https://woodoo.com/
Health
Aqemia – this new-generation pharmaceutical company has generated a medication discovery pipeline with exponential growth. It is based on algorithms developed during eight years of fundamental research in a laboratory in the ENS - PSL chemistry department. Aqemia was founded by Maximilien Levesque (at the time a researcher at ENS – PSL) and Emmanuelle Martiano. Technology is used to combine artificial intelligence and statistical and quantum physics, making it possible to predict whether a molecule is effective for a specific target, at a speed that is unequaled on the market. Since Aqemia’s creation in 2019, it has experienced spectacular growth and recruited over 40 scientists as permanent employees.
https://www.aqemia.com/
Astraveus is a start-up incubated at ESPCI Paris – PSL that is revolutionizing the field of cell gene therapy (CGT) manufacturing with the Lakhesys™ platform, an end-to-end cell foundry, which uses deep process optimization and single-use, microfluidic bioprocessors to deliver better results with reduced inputs. By removing the need for large-scale infrastructure, reducing costs, and overcoming the logistical challenges typically associated with CGT manufacturing, Astraveus is seeking to transform patient access to these life-changing therapies.
https://www.astraveus.com/
DNA Script was created to revolutionize the synthesis of DNA using enzymes. It draws on the combined work of researchers from ESPCI Paris – PSL and Mines Paris – PSL. These efforts in R&D have led to innovations in enzyme engineering, surface and nucleotide chemistry, and instrumentation. When these innovations were put into application, SYNTAX™ was born, the world’s first benchtop DNA printer that runs on enzyme technology.
https://www.espci.psl.eu/fr/innovation/l-incubateur-pc-up/dna-script
Lifen, founded by Mines Paris - PSL alumnus Franch Le Ouey, is a start-up that helps all actors in the healthcare ecosystem provide better treatment by working together and mobilizing the most useful health data and innovations for healthcare.
https://www.lifen.health/?
Withings, founded by engineer and EPSCI Paris - PSL graduate Eric Carrel, is a start-up that has become a flourishing, major company in the booming sector of connected objects in just a few years.
https://www.withings.com/fr/en/
To create tomorrow's leaders in strategic sectors, 125 French Tech 2030 winners were unveiled by the French President. Congratulations to them. 👇🏼
— Sylvie Retailleau (@sretailleau) June 14, 2023